Singaporean diver, 51, still missing in Indonesia after four days

Tatiana Mohamad Rosli
The New Paper
Nov 7, 2019

A Singaporean, one of three divers reported to have gone missing in Indonesia, has still not been found after four days of search operations. They had gone diving in waters off Sangiang Island in Banten on Sunday.

Indonesia's search and rescue team Basarnas told The Straits Times yesterday that the Singaporean was identified as Wang Bing Yang.

Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported yesterday that he is 51 years old. The other two, Qin Xue Tao and Tian Yu, are Chinese nationals.

ST added that Basarnas has deployed at least three navy vessels, two police patrol boats and a helicopter since Sunday, after a diving mate alerted authorities that the three had not returned to base.

The search area, divided into four regions, measures a total of 1,300 square nautical miles.

Basarnas said yesterday morning that one region, south-west of where the tourist divers began their journey, was the biggest of the four and was covered by air search operations.

The three men were grouped together when an original group of six tourists was split into two.

EXPERIENCED DIVERS

The New Paper understands that both groups started the expedition at about 1.30pm on Sunday, and only one group resurfaced about an hour later.

Local reports said the other group was believed to have resurfaced once before going down again and then going missing.

The victims are believed to be qualified and experienced professional divers, Mr Zainal Arifin, head of the Banten chapter of Basarnas, told Detik, an Indonesian news media site.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) confirmed yesterday that a Singaporean went missing while diving off Pulau Sangiang, Banten, on Sunday.

The Singapore Embassy in Jakarta has been in contact with the family of the Singaporean and are working closely with the Indonesian authorities who are coordinating search and rescue operations, MFA said.

"A consular officer from the Embassy is on the ground to provide assistance and close support. MFA and the Embassy will continue to render consular assistance to the family of the missing Singaporean," the ministry added.

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